The Five Senses Kids Lessons and Activities

Activities

Sense of Sound Lesson

Ask: “Why can we hear a radio, a telephone, a car honking? We use our ears. Most of our ear is deep inside our head and we can’t see it. We can hear high sounds, low sounds, loud sounds, fast sounds, and slow sounds. We don’t have the biggest ears. An elephant has much bigger ears than we have. Animals can move their ears to use them as collectors to funnel sounds into the ear. Sound is made if something vibrates. If something moves back and forth rapidly, the air moves too and makes waves. These movements are called sound waves or vibrations. When a bell rings, the clapper hits the bell. The bell vibrates and sound waves go through the air. (Demonstrate with bell.) The waves enter our ear, the brain starts to work, and we hear the bell ring. It is very important never to put anything in our ears. Remember, there are parts of the ear that you cannot see and you can damage them if you put something in your ear.”

Ask, “Did you know that you have a hammer in your ear? This hammer is not the kind of hammer that you use to hit a nail. Instead, it’s a very tiny bone called a hammer. You also have an anvil in your ear. An anvil is also a tool. It is used to shape metal. The bone in our ear is named after the anvil because it’s shaped the same, but it is much smaller. Have you ever seen a horse wearing a saddle? Hanging off the side of the saddle is the stirrup, which is where you put your foot when you ride the horse. We have a bone in each ear that looks just like a tiny stirrup. Guess what it’s called? That’s right! A stirrup. Together, the hammer, anvil, and stirrup make up the three tiniest bones in our bodies. The bones in our ears are named after tools. Maybe that’s because our ears are such important tools for us.”

Movement and Games:

Say the following rhyme to children and have them play the game below:

Use your ears, use your ears,
Listen now and hear!
Use your ears, use your ears,
What kind of sound do you hear?

Have children close their eyes. Make a sound such as a clap, a whistle, a snap of the fingers and so on. Let children guess what sound you make. Switch it up and let children take turns making the sound.

Movement Activities

Sound Walk

Take a walk with children outside. Bring either a tape recorder or a notepad and record the sounds that you and the children hear (birds singing, wind blowing, etc). Have a discussion with children about the sounds they heard, and then let them mimic the sounds.

Film Canister Sounds

Fill two film canisters (or plastic Easter eggs) with a few beans, two canisters with a few pennies, and two canisters with a unpopped popcorn kernels. Mix the canisters up and let children shake them and try to find the matching pairs.